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I have just received a letter this morning from my land lord asking that I pay three months back-dated rent (£1500) as my standing order payments have been returned to my bank account. This is because the bank details that the land lord gave me three months ago at the start of the shortholt tenancy were incorrect.
The land lord has admitted this error in his letter this morning and is asking for full payment straight away. Having just had a baby, I do not have that sort of money laying around, and as I never check my bank statements I didn't know of this until just now.
Is there any rule that says if the land lord messed up then it is his own tough luck, or am I just lumbered with a £1500 bill?
It is unfortunate that you did not notice that the payments had been returned, especially as this happened three times. Nevertheless, this does not release you from your contractual duty to pay the rent.
As there are rent arrears, the landlord is now entitled to start court proceedings to evict you.
1.As Ed999 has mentioned you are still liable to pay your rent.
2.You could face eviction now.However I would suggest that you try to bring the arrears down to just below 2 months(as you must have 2 months arrears to trigger an eviction) and offer the balance spread over the next few months.I would suggest that you pay at least 600 pounds and offer the balance over the next months at an affordable amount and stick to it in addition of course your regular monthly rent amount.
3.You should tell your landlord this is only a temporary measure and try and increase the amount towards the arrears as the months go by.
4.As you have just had a baby,make sure that you are claiming (if you qualify that is) for all the state benefits/grants on offer.
5.I would suggest that you put what I have just mentioned in writing and include the first payment cheque.Send it by recorded delivery post and retain the stub.The reason for this is if the matter does happen reach court you will have shown the judge that you have done your best to remedy the situatiion which will go in your favour.
6.Although I do not say this for you to get laid back about your situation but any court of law will always put the welfare of your child above everything else.
Finally,congrats on the birth of the little one!
Do not stress out about things as we will do all we can to help you here.
If you have any questions,please feel free to ask.
At the end of the day this is how a court of law would deal with this sort of situation.
apinnard,it may be a good idea for the you to apply for social housing if you have not already done so which is at a more affordable rate and who knows you maybe lucky.
apinnard,Just one question - why didn't the landlord notify you of the non-payment earlier than 3 months down the line?It just seems abit odd that he only noticed this after a fairly long time.
Oh come on, you say your short of money. So how on earth did you not notice that you had an extra £500 per month in your account? I am sure most people would realise something was wrong and look into it.
More to the point, why do you not have this sort of money laying around if the rent hasnt gone out? That doesnt make sense. I appreciate your position, but dont blame the landlord for your poor financial management.
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
Isn't the landlord at fault even just a little for not getting in touch sooner, ours is on our back on the 11th if the rent hasn't went his way - even if the 10th was a Sunday and that's the only reason it's been delayed. With having a baby about chances are you've not had time to look at the bank and that's fair enough but do try to pay this back as soon as possible - you risk losing your home if you don't make right these arrears but that doesn't mean you have to pay £1500 straight off.
Any posts submitted here on the Consumer Action Group under the user name GlasweJen may not necessarily be the view of the poster, CAG or indeed any normal person.
I've become addicted to green blobs (I have 2 now) so feel free to tip my scales if I ever make sense.;-)
Dont get me wrong, the landlord has has element of liability here. However, that doesnt remove any portion of the rent being owed.He should be flexible and allow the arrears to be paid over an element of time, however, he is not legally obliged to do so.
My advice would be to pay off over 1 months arrears immediately. This means you have less than 2 months arrears so you cannot be evicted on a mandatory ground, you would have to have a hearing, where a judge would probably sympathise.
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
You could face eviction now.However I would suggest that you try to bring the arrears down to just below 2 months(as you must have 2 months arrears to trigger an eviction) and offer the balance spread over the next few months.
There are a number of grounds for eviction in section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. The only one which leads inevitably to eviction is if the arrears exceed 2 months rent at the time the hearing takes place.
The existence of rent arrears equal to or greater than the equivalent of 2 months rent (at the date of the court hearing) is a "mandatory" ground for eviction, meaning the court has no choice - it must evict the tenant.
However, if the arrears are less than 2 months rent (at the time of the court hearing) then the Court still has a power to evict. It's just that it is then discretionary, instead of compulsory. So it gives the Court an option whether or not to evict.
Landlord gave me wrong bank details
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Originally Posted by Nightmare4banks
